The air is more than brisk. It is cold, not as cold as it will be later in the year, but cold. The early morning is dark and I, for one, am awaiting the return of standard time so the mornings will be light again. The birds that remain after the summer are huddling in the bushes that still have their leaves. All the summer birds have left.
The cooler weather will result in the reds and oranges of the maples we are used to seeing this time of year. The Farmer’s Almanac says we’re in for a hard winter but NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicts a warmer than usual winter with the La Niña system continuing for another year.
Predicting the weather is not an easy job, especially in this time of changing climate, but preparing for any event is what’s most important. The squirrels have picked up most of the acorns from the oak trees to put them aside for the winter. Perhaps they’re our best predictors of the weather to come.
Prayer for the Day
To you, O God, we lift up our hearts and in you do we trust,
For you make us to know your ways, not the ways of the world;
You hold us in your arms as a mother holds her child,
And protect us from our deepest fears of losing you.
Bestow on us, O Lord, continuing trust in your faithfulness,
So we are able to live as your children sharing your love with others.
In the name of the One who shows us how to trust,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham Lincoln, President (1809-1865)
Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re all falling like they’re in love with the ground.
Andrea Gibson, American poet and activist
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is God’s work, and God’s righteousness endures forever.
God has gained renown by wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Psalm 111: 2-4